Editor, The News:
I can’t believe the nonsense that smart meters are generating, and from people who I thought were perfectly sensible.
The meters that are being replaced operate on century-old technology that is approximately right at best and subject to easily altered calibration.
Our telephone, radio and television companies had similarly-dated equipment that they have replaced at our – the customers – cost long ago.
And we, in our homes, have replaced such equipment with modern radios, televisions, microwaves, telephones and are using wireless technology in our TV remote controllers and cordless phones, thinking nothing of the risk from wireless equipment’s radiation.
And nowhere in the world has anyone proven harm from these radiation-emitting devices.
We accept them because they make life more comfortable for us.
The privacy issue is also an imagined hazard.
How in the world can Hydro use this data to our harm?
It is supplying our power and if it wishes to know what power we are using and when, why should it not be able to?
If it can supply power cheaper at night, why should Hydro not be able to give me a discount for using power at night?
The mistake Hydro made was in announcing that it was going to replace meters with modern technology. Telus never made that announcement, and we followed suit by buying cordless phones and not worrying about electromagnetic radiation.
The silly season is certainly upon us. If Hydro was a private company, it would simply disconnect anyone who refused a smart mater on their house.
Lyall Holmes
Maple Ridge